Maori Language Week provides many opportunities
IT’S common knowledge that there are three official languages in Aotearoa New Zealand: English, Maori and New Zealand Sign Language.
Despite this, our population is overwhelmingly monolingual, with most of us speaking only English — the language that arrived with British colonialism and was established at that time as the sole official language. Today it remains the primary language of Parliament, the education system, the courts and the rest of the public sector, and subsequently most of the private sector too.
So, while English is the dominant language of this country, for one week of the year many of us try to korero Maori more than usual; to celebrate the reo that developed here and is a unique part of Aotearoa’s history and culture.
Te Wiki o te Reo Maori begins this Monday, and at the museum it’s prompted us to redesign the signage and our children’s activities to include both Maori and English. Many of the staff have also expressed a desire to learn te reo and we’re looking forward to starting weekly after-work classes, which will soon be held on-site.
Learning any second language makes you realise how central language is to culture. Growing up speaking only English, as most New Zealanders do, shapes our shared world view and cultural outlook in a very particular way. It’s easy for this to go unnoticed as it’s all- encompassing, just as fish don’t notice the water they’re swimming in. But with the acquisition of another language, it becomes clear that there are completely different ways of conceptualising the world.
Learning te reo Maori gives insight into one of these other ways of seeing. What’s particularly special about te reo is that it’s the only language that is inseparable from the land, waterways and native plants and wildlife of this country. Just as countless aspects of English reflect its European origins, many Maori whakatauki (or sayings) are drawn from this place.
For example, “E kore te patiki e hoki ki tona puehu” literally means “the flounder does not return to its dust”, and is a warning against making the same mistake twice, or an expression that what’s done is done. The saying arose from observation of the patiki, or flounder fish, that live in many rivers and streams around the country. This close connection with familiar natural features of Aotearoa is just one of the unique and precious aspects of te reo.
Looking back into history we can see that early European immigrants embraced te reo Maori — learning it was part and parcel of living in New Zealand. Many Pakeha who were born here grew up bilingual, such as Hawke’s Bay siblings Frances and Ridley Colenso. The young children wrote a charming letter in te reo to their father (Reverend William Colenso) in 1851, which is now in the museum collection. This is a wonderful memento of a time when both English and Maori were in widespread usage and it’s a shame that te reo was later suppressed in schools and other state institutions. As a result, so few of us today enjoy fluency in the Maori language, which should be our birthright.
Yesterday Tryphena Cracknell (Curator Taonga Maori) judged the regional round of Nga Manu Korero national secondary school speech contests and was impressed with the calibre of the students speaking in both English and Maori. These young people shared their love of Maori culture and te reo in particular, and they exemplify the theme of this year’s Maori language week: “akina te reo”, which is about using te reo Maori to support and inspire others.
National Theatre Live Production of The Mikado on film. Century Theatre, 2pm tomorrow. Cost: $16; seniors $14. Door sales only.
“Ten things you didn't know about climate change,’’ by professors Tim Naish and James Renwick, Victoria University, Wellington. A national tour sponsored by the Royal Society. Century Theatre, 6pm, Wednesday, July 6. Free entry.